Greece set to return to the bond market

Not that long ago, Greece was heading for bankruptcy... and a very messy exit from the euro.

Now Athens is poised to end its four-year exile from the bond markets.

On Thursday Greece is expected to tap those markets for loans worth around three and a half billion dollars.

But many ordinary Greeks would disagree their country is returning to normal.

A general strike in protest at the impact of austerity on Wednesday saw thousands of protesters march through central Athens to vent their anger:

Greece has suffered six straight years of recession. Unemployment is 28 per cent.

And yet... the government is confident global investors will now believe the country is on the right track, and once again be tempted to buy its bonds.

We hear from Hugo Dixon who is editor at large of Reuters News.

Not everyone though is as convinced by the return of Greece to the financial markets.

Yannis Varoufakis is an economics professor at Athens University.